Tag Archives: carrots

Claire sent me this recipe several weeks ago, but in all of the Christmas hullabaloo, I forgot to post it. Now, as I sit at work doing very little of it, I figured I’d give this a post.

Usually when people send me recipes, I clean up the spelling errors and the stream-of-consciousness typing. But I’m not going to do that here because I love how weird this ingredient list came out. Apparently Peg was insisting Claire type this up and send it to me, and Claire was not all that committed to the undertaking. The sentence “drain a can of corn and drain” speaks for itself.

———–

2 lbs ground beef

1 large can whole peeled tomatoes

1 large can tomato sauce

chop yellow onion

chop 3 celery stalks

chop 4/5 carrots

drain a can of corn and drain

cut up 2 large potatos

chop 2 zuchinis

water til soupy

1 tbs italian seasoning

salt and pepper

1 packet dry ranch dressing

———–

Brown ground beef and drain.

Drain and cut up the tomatoes. (“For some reason this is different than diced tomotoes in peg’s head.”)

With the colder weather finally creeping in down here, I have really been into hearty warming meals. Lentils are my latest thing. I have cooked them a lot of different ways, but this one is definitely the best. It needs a bit more attention then just simmering in liquid because this recipe cooks it risotto style. The outcome is amazing, and you won’t even notice that it is extremely heathy too! I served these along a rack of lamb (cooked with same herbs), and it was the perfect combination. Sorry the picture shows the lamb more then the lentils. – ts

In a medium sauté pan, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil for one minute over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot, and sauté the vegetables until they are softened, 10 minutes.

Add the lentils, sliced garlic, rosemary and bay leaf and sauté for 3-5 minutes more, coating all the lentils. Increase the heat and add the red wine. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered, stirring, until the mixture becomes dry.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring the chicken stock to a simmer, then turn off the heat and cover to keep warm. Add the warm chicken stock to the lentils (like cooking a risotto) 1/2 a cup at a time, letting the lentils absorb the liquid with each addition. Repeat, stirring the mixture constantly. After 30 minutes or so the lentils should be slightly chewy and tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

The first official day of fall has come and gone, and that means it’s legitimately time for soup again! And I no longer have to put up with judgmental looks when I ask what the soup of the day while sitting on a patio in July.

As it is now October, I’ve clearly already made chili (cheese dogs) in celebration of the season, but this week I decided to turn my attention to things more healthy.

This recipe is similar to Mama Dunny’s oft-praised Veggie Beef Soup, and it is certainly not lacking in the ingredient department. Luckily most of these ingredients can be bought already prepped, so you get to stand and stir and taste and season without having to chop ’til your fingers fall off.

And believe it or not, the addition of Zing Zang here is not just a reflection of my inability to wait until Saturday morning to make myself a bloody. It actually adds great flavor and seasoning. Give it a slurp and see what I mean.

Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Cook on low for at least 3 hours (the longer and lower the better, but you just have to cook it until the brisket starts to pull apart).

Once the brisket is tender, remove it from the broth and let cool. Pull apart.

Turn the broth up to a boil and add the veggies. [Start with carrots and potatoes (which will take longer) and work your way down to things that cook quickly like mushrooms. ] Turn down to a simmer.

Add beef and uncooked pasta. Simmer until pasta is cooked through. Add more broth if necessary.*

TASTE and SEASON. This is a big ole mess ‘o soup (because why would make any other amount?), and that will require a LOT of seasoning. My measurements are always estimates, so use your own judgment. Nothing is more disappointing than bland broth.

Serve with Saltines. Because some things Grandma did you cannot argue with.

*Do not be afraid to add more broth (and subsequently more seasoning) as you go along. All these veggies will suck up that moisture, and the broth is so delish that you’ll want more of it.

Good news nummies – not only is it Friday, but my delusions of fall have finally become reality! It’s cool and crisp and it reminds me of my Uncle Stewart’s tailgate: Hot Damn and brown-sugar-hand-stirred-some-other-long-string-of-words-I-can’t remember BBQ sauce (recipe still pending release) will make you forget that you’re about to watch the Tigers get trounced. Again.

Anyway, another thing fall reminds me of is short ribs. Luckily, Morg passed this recipe along to me last week. And she didn’t even wait until she finished eating it to send it over, so it must be cray-mazing. (I watched a lot of Project Runway last night, so I’m talking like a cranky, mid-30s drama queen. Please forgive.)

From Morg:
“This recipe calls for a tagine (which we randomly have) but I hadn’t ‘seasoned’ the tagine (a three hour process) so I just used my dutch oven, which every chef needs. I’m obsessed with mine. I digress. This is a great meal for a Sunday or a holiday because it requires some hours on the stove, but it’s so worth it. And it leaves a nice smell floating through the house all day long. I served this over homemade mashed potatoes (recipe linked to from the Williams-Sonoma recipe for the ribs). Very simple. And I used the KitchenAid mixer instead of mashing by hand.”

One look through the ingredient list, and I was sold. I might suggest using one of The Chef’s variations of mashed potatoes, but I could be biased, so whatever blows your skirt up. Either way, an all-day simmering situation makes my mouth water. And it makes me want to say – like an Akin at a tailgate – HOT DAMN HELL YES.

Soak a tagine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place the tagine on a diffuser over medium-high heat and warm 1 tbsp of the olive oil.

Season the short ribs on all sides with salt and pepper. Dredge the ribs in the flour until evenly coated, shaking off the excess. Add half of the ribs to the tagine and sear until well browned on all sides, about 10 minutes total; transfer to a plate. Repeat with 1 tbsp of the olive oil and the remaining ribs.

Reduce the heat to medium and warm the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the celery, carrots and shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the Aleppo chili, bay leaf, thyme, broth, wine, salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Return the ribs to the tagine.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook, turning the ribs occasionally, until the meat is tender, 4.5 to 5 hours.

Garnish the ribs with the parsley and serve immediately with mashed potatoes. Serves 4.

How about this beautiful autumn weather, nummy? It’s balmy and breezy and cool and simply delightful outside, no?

Actually, no; it is not. It’s going to be 88 degrees in Nashville this afternoon, and I just spent my lunch hour sweating through my long-sleeved shirt on the Calypso patio, so we Southerners still have a ways to go, as they say.

behindtheskillet.blogspot.com

Nonetheless, it was 67 degrees when I left the house this morning and we even managed to cook out last night without me throwing up from the humidity. Also, we’ve gotten to watch The Vols play football – and actually win, no less – two Saturdays in a row, so I say it’s fall, dad-gummit.

In that vein, we’re gonna kick things off with a roasted veggie stock that can serve as the base for any seasonal soup you like. Roasting the veggies is super easy but will give you much more depth of flavor* than just doing a basic broth, so don’t go cutting corners.

Remove veggies to a stockpot, then deglaze the hot roasting pan by adding 1 cup of water.

Scrape up any browned bits, then add the liquid to the post along with 6 cups of cold water and the thyme sprigs.

Simmer gently uncovered for 1 hour. Strain and store. Or use immediately to make The Chef’s Tortilla Soup. Easy and delish.

*Depth of flavor is my one bit of pretentious kitchen-speak for this post. We may have been out of the blogging game for a while, but that doesn’t mean the Cooking Channel hasn’t been playing on an obnoxious loop in the background of our lives the whole time. Osmosis, baby,

It’s Monday, and due to the fact that I spent the better part of my Sunday sitting in traffic on I-40, all I want to do today is watch Netflix and play on Facebook as I normally would on Sunday. Unfortunately I have this stupid job thingy that’s totally ruining my plans.

So I’m giving my brain a break and posting something simple and fresh that I wish I’d had for lunch instead of the cold chicken fingers I actually ate. The Chef served this vinaigrette over roasted shrooms and carrots, and I must say between this and the baby carrot recipe, he’s actively proving that they aren’t just lame ranch-covered OM-related snacks from my childhood.

The Chef says this also works well as a marinade for lamb or beef. I cannot, however, vouch for lamb yet as that is one of the foods he has yet to make for me in an attempt to prove that it doesn’t, in fact, taste like dirt and barnyard like I think it does. I’ll keep you posted on that one.

Other than as side dishes on some high-falutin* Cooking Channel shows, I had no experience with baby carrots until I bought them on my last trip to the Whitton Farms stand at the Memphis Farmers Market 2 weeks ago. Obviously, I had to purchase them because I purchase anything tiny or orange (Go Vols!), but I was delighted to find out that they are not only cute as crap but really freaking tasty too.

The Chef gave these a good olive oil and herb bath and roasted them until they were like little bite-sized candies. Cooking them at this high temp makes every bit of them soft, right down to their little green hats.

3 bunches of baby carrots
salt and pepper to taste
1.5 tbsp chopped herbs (sage and rosemary are great choices and they make the house smell amazing)
olive oil

Preheat oven to 400.

Toss carrot with oil, then salt and pepper, then herbs.

Roast for 20 minutes.

Eat with your hands. So much more fun that way.

*Many thanks to Carly whose blog came up first when I googled “What does the word falutin’ mean?” It does my heart good to know that the pressing Google issues I face are being taken care of by people who I already know.